


Frisk Is Sick

by lambkind



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Gender-Neutral Frisk, Skelebros being bros
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-26
Updated: 2016-08-26
Packaged: 2018-08-11 03:24:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7874296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lambkind/pseuds/lambkind
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Papyrus invites you to spend the night on the couch after your date. But after all that running around in the snow, it's no wonder you wake up with a cold! Do these skeletons know anything about taking care of a sick human???</p>
            </blockquote>





	Frisk Is Sick

After your bizarre date with Papyrus, the skeleton brothers invited you to stay at their place. There's an inn in town, but you wanted to save what little money you had for food, so you accepted gratefully. You guess the stress of the last few days took its toll—not to mention the hour spent running from Papyrus in the slushy, frozen snow—because when you wake up you feel like death. Your whole body aches, and your throat feels like you swallowed a cactus. Your head is pounding. You manage one hoarse cough and immediately regret it.

"READY FOR BREAKFAST?" calls Papyrus, bounding down the stairs. "HOW DOES SPAGHETTI SOUND?"

He takes one look at you and sounds the alarm. "HUMAN, ARE YOU ALRIGHT? YOU LOOK AWFUL."

"I think I'm sick," you croak.

"OH MY GOD," shouts Papyrus. "I MUST HAVE PUSHED YOU TOO HARD DURING OUR BATTLE! OR MAYBE… OUR DATE WAS TOO STRENUOUS??"

"hey, what's goin' on down there?" calls Sans from the top of the stairs.

After a brief explanation ("THEY WERE LIKE THIS WHEN I WOKE UP!"), Papyrus fusses around the room while Sans stands beside the couch, looking down at you. He takes your hand and grips it in his. Your hand is so cold that even his bony fingers feel warm.

"wow kid, you must be…" His grin widens. "chilled to the bone."

"SANS!" complains Papyrus. "WILL YOU BE SERIOUS FOR ONCE! WHAT IF THEY'RE DYING?" 

"is that old thermometer still around here somewhere?" asks Sans. 

They both pause to stare at the floor, apparently trying very hard to remember.

"maybe in the kitchen?" says Sans, shrugging. 

"YOU GO LOOK. I'LL MAKE THE HUMAN MORE COMFORTABLE." Papyrus scoops you into his arms and carries you upstairs at full speed. He tucks you into his race care bad. Great. Now you can cruise while you suffer. You remember the reason he has this bed ("If I ever get to the surface I'd like to drive down a long highway") and feel sorry for him all over again.

Sans eventually shuffles in with the thermometer. He sits next to you on the bed while Papyrus pours over the little folded paper of instructions.

"i think it goes in like this," says Sans. With a mischievous look, he sticks the thermometer in your mouth glass-end-first, with the probe sticking out. 

"SANS, YOU NUMBSKULL, THAT'S THE WRONG WAY. DO I HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING AROUND HERE?"

Papyrus puts the thermometer back in your mouth, in the correct direction this time, while Sans snickers behind his back.

A few minutes later, you watch blearily as they bend their heads together and puzzle over the reading on the thermometer.

"WHAT TEMPERATURE ARE HUMANS SUPPOSED TO BE, ANYWAY?" asks Papyrus.

"i guess this is ok…" says Sans, sounding unsure.

You feel a tickle in the back of your nose. You suck in a sharp breath, sneeze loudly into your sleeve, then look back up, sniffling and watery-eyed. The skeletons stare at you for a long moment. Then they glance briefly at each other, before whipping around to face away from you. 

"SANS," says Papyrus. He's clearly trying to whisper and failing. "THE HUMAN IS SORT OF ADORABLE."

"what're you gonna do, bro?" asks Sans, fighting to keep laughter out of his voice.

"I DON'T KNOW… DO YOU THINK IT'S OK TO LET THEM LEAVE?"

"we can let them stay until they feel better, at least. besides, they held their own against _you_ , right?"

"HA! OF COURSE YOU'RE RIGHT. THEY'VE ALREADY PROVEN THEY CAN FEND OFF THE STRONGEST OF FOES."

You spend an indeterminate amount of time sleeping fitfully before the skeleton brothers reenter the room. Papyrus is carrying a steaming bowl of something on a tray and looking pleased with himself. You feel an immediate sense of trepidation.

"IT'S TOMATO SOUP!" says Papyrus, shoving the tray into your lap. "YOU'LL NEED YOUR STRENGTH TO GET WELL. SO EAT UP!"

You pick up the spoon. The skeletons are watching expectantly. Oh boy… You take a cautious sip. Wow. What did he do to it… to make it taste like that…

"DO YOU LIKE IT?" asks Papyrus anxiously.

You take one look at his nervous, hopeful expression and you know there's only one way you can respond. You nod.

"EXCELLENT!" he shouts. He rushes from the room, calling back, "I'LL SAVE SOME FOR YOU TOO, SANS!"

You stare down into the soup, and you don't notice Sans approaching until you feel him ruffle your hair with his bony fingers. 

"i'll chuck this down the drain when he's not looking," he says. He winks at you and moves to take the bowl.

"It—It's not that bad!" you say, holding onto the bowl. "And besides, I'm kinda…" Your stomach growls.

Sans snickers. "i'll see if i can rustle something up. we'll tell him you were hungry enough for seconds."

What he "rustles up" is a bag of potato chips, but you're grateful for anything you can get.

You continue to feel miserable for the rest of the day. Papyrus provides you with several freshly-laundered handkerchiefs, and Sans finds an ice pack for your forehead. You suppose it could be worse. Much worse…

You startle awake as Papyrus whirls into the room.

"HOW ABOUT A BEDTIME STORY?" he asks. He clearly didn't notice you were already asleep. He drags a chair up to the race car and sits beside you with a book. "SANS ALWAYS ASKS ME TO READ THIS ONE TO HIM WHEN HE'S FEELING DOWN."

You manage to suppress a laugh. You haven't known these skeletons for very long, but you know enough to find this idea ludicrous and adorable.

The story turns out to be pretty cute, and Papyrus clearly enjoys it. You wonder if Sans requests it specifically for his brother's benefit. You fall asleep to the sound of Papyrus's strange voice and clattering teeth.

When you wake up, Sans is standing at the window, staring wistfully into the perpetual semi-gloom of the Underground. You're beginning to find that it's a common expression on monsters.

He notices that you're awake and gives you a big, crinkly-eyed grin. "mornin' kid. how ya feelin'?"

He slumps into the chair next to the bed. "hey. thanks for being so nice to my brother. and sorry about him trying to capture you and everything. …everyone just really wants to get out of here." He stares into the distance again, and after a long moment he continues. "if you keep going, you might run into other monsters who want to, uh… capture you. i understand if you want to defend yourself. but y'know. no matter how bad they seem, you might find that all they really need is… a friend."

He stands and scratches the back of his skull. "aw well, what do i know." Then he winks at you, and turns to go.

As he leaves the room, you make a silent vow to yourself that, no matter what, you're gonna find a way to get those skeletons to the surface.


End file.
